Tubular fluid-cooled walls



April 18, 1933.

Filed' Aug. 8, '1950 A. E; WEINGARTNER TUBULAR FLUID COOLED WALLS 5Sheets-Sheet l April 1933- A. E. WEINGARTNER TUBULAR FLUID COOLED WALLSFiled Aug. 8, 1950 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 April 1-8, 1933. A. E. WEINGARTNER 71,904,182

TUBULAR FLUID COOLED WALLS Filed Aug. 8, 1950 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 April 13,1933- A. E. WEI'NGARTNER I 1,904,182

TUBULAR FLUID GOOLED WALLS Filed Aug. 8, 1950 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Zwenrform.

Patented Apr. 18, I933 ANTHONY E. WE'INGAR'INER, or "BETHnEH EM,PENNSYLVANIA, AssIeNon'ronmnR- 'I'oA'N 'ENGINEERINGCOMIPANY,"or"rmLAn-ELPnIA,rnN sYLvANIA, A conronnj TION or PENNSYLVANIA 1Application filed August 8, 19 30.- Serial No. 474,033.

This invention relates to improvements in tubular fluid-cooled walls ofa type adapted for use in furnaces, retorts, and the like, and

aprincipal object of the invention is to provide a wall of the, stated.character that shall have a generally higher efficiency and be, moredurable than walls of alike type as made in accordance with the priorpractice. Another object of the invention is to providea wall of thestated character which shall-be relatively simple inform and in whichall tube-protecting ac'cessorieasuch as facing blocks, bolts and clamps,may be eliminated. A specific object of this invention is to pro- 5 videa furnace wall of the stated character,

comprising a series of tubes 'ofsubstantially rectangular exterior--cross-sectional form which terminate in headers alsoof substantiallyrectangular, exterior cross-sectional Other and further objects, willbecome apparent as the description'of the invention progresses.

ln the attached drawings: Figure l is a diagrammatic sectional viewillustratinga fluid-cooled furnace wall con.- struction made inaccordance with my inven'- tion; :1

r Fig. 2 is a sectionon the line -22-,1 Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view on the line 44, Fig.2;

Fig. 5 is-a fragmentary view in perspective illustrating an extremity ofone of the tubes of the fluid system as made in accordance with myinvention V r V Fig. 6 is a sectional view illustratingstructuraldetails of a wall construction-made in accordance with my invention; v

Fig. 7 is a diagrammatic side elevational view illustratingxa furthertypical installation in accordance with my invention;

Figs 8 is a fragmentary elevational v-iew'illustrating jastructuralmodification Within the scope of my invention, and

Fig. 3 isa section on the line 3-3, Fig.1;

TUBULAR FLUID-000L331) WALLS .Fig. a section on the line 9+9, 8. a, I Inthe construction ofcertaintypes offiuidcooled walls, such for example asthe water i wallsof furnaces, retorts andthe like, it has been-customaryto employ metal tubes of standard outside and inside cylindrical form.

These tubes,-b-y reason of'their form'andinability to stand hightemperatures, have required the use therewith of liner block's both asameans for forming flat and solid wall surfaces and also as a protectivemeans for the tubes themselves. In order to facilitate transfer of heatfrom the effective wall surface to the fluid cooling medium circulatingwithin the-tubes, it has been proposed to make these protective blocksof metal, .such as cast iron or of a material having a like relativelyhigh factor of conductivity-and these blocks are commonly secured incontact "with the tubes by meansof bolts, clamps a'ndthe like.

I have discovered that a material -improve-' mentin coolingefiiciencyand many other practical advantages hereinafter set forth are obtainableby employing in the formation of fluid-cooled walls of the; stated tyipetubes which -While' preferably maintainingthe usual cylindrical form inthe inner surface are formed rectangular on the outside or are givenother external form affording equiv- -alent.;advan' tages as hereinafterset forth. i5

These tubes preferablyare made of metal and may be produced by pressing,rolling, drawing or in any other commercial and practicable manner. 1

The. many advantages of a wall made in 30 accordance with my inventionwill become more apparent by reference to the attached drawings, inwhich I have-illustrated fluid.- cooled wall structures made inaccordance with'my invention. Thus in Fig. 1, showing atypical waterwall'construction'suitable for furnaces-and the like, 1 and 2 indicateupper and lower headers inwhich are secured the ends "of-a plurality oftubes, which in accordance with nay-invention are made cylindrical inthe inner surface and rectangular in the outer. These tubes 3 are placedside by side in a continuous vertical series forming a substantiallyflat solid wall, the inner surface of which is exposed to the relativelyhigh combustion temperatures of the furnace. Similarly constructed frontand rear furnace walls may be employed each comprising an upper header 4and a lower header 5, together with wall-forming tubes 6 extendingbetween the headers and arranged contiguously in series similar to thetubes 3. With reference to thelatter, it will be noted that the adjacenttubes enter the headers 1 and 2 in different planes or in staggeredrelation, this arrangement permitting the close assembly of thisparticular form of tube required for the formation of an adequatelycontinuous wall surface.

As illustrated in Fig. 2, the tubes of the various series may be unitedand'reinforced by means of one or more cross bars 7 on the outside ofthe wall, which in a preferred embodiment are connected with theindividual tubes by straps8, which at their ends may be individual tubesfrom the wall-forming bank by simply removing the straps 8 attached tothe particular tube, which permits withdrawal of the tube followingrelease of the terminal ends from the headers to which they areattached. The bars 7 with the straps 8 afford a highly unified structurein which the tube elements are prevented from individual displacement byexpansion or by reason. of the various operating conditions. Also, asillustrated in the drawings, I prefer to employ headers, such as 1 and2, of the same internal and external forms as the tubes 3,-and in Fig.6, I have illustrated a preferred method of attaching the tubes in theheaders. In this connection, I prefer to form theisaid tubes 3 asillustrated in Fig. 5 with cylindrical terminal ends 9 which in assemblyand as illustrated in Fig. 6 are fitted in cylindrical openings 11 inthe header with which the tubes are to be attached, and are expandedtherein in well known manner in order to'effect a secure and water-tightconnection. Also as shown in Fig. 6, I prefer to form the surfaces ofthe cylindrical openings 11 of the headers with recesses 10, preferablyextending continuously around the circumference of' said openings, intowhich the material of the tube extensions is forced in the expandingoperation. These recesses with the flared inwardly projectingextremities 12-0f the inserted tubes 3 afford a completely tight andsecure joint between the tubes and the headers.

In order to afford access to the interior of theheaders for the toolsemployed in the tube-attaching operations set forth above, I provide theopposite walls of the headers with openings 18 arranged preferably inalignment with the tube-receiving openings 11, these handholes l3normally and during the periods of furnace operation being closed bymeans of covers 14 which may be inserted into the interior of theheaders through a master hole or holes (not shown), seats 15 for thecovers being provided in theinterior of the header, and said covershaving threaded stems 16 which project outwardly through the openings 13and. afiord means through the medium of nuts 17 and interposed washers18 for drawing the covers up tightly upon the said seats to therebyeffectively close the openings 4. To facilitate replacement of thecovers 1 1 following removal for the purpose of cleaning the tubes andheaders, I preferably attach to the outer end of the stems 16 small eyebolts 19 and chains 20.

Many advantages accrue to a wall construction such as described above.The rectangular tubes 3 assembled as illustrated provide a substantiallysolid. wall having a flat and substantially continuous inner oreffective wall surface and a continuous and uninterrupted path betweenthis surface and the fluid cooling medium circulating through the tubes.Since the efficiency of the wall depends in large part upon theefliciency of the heat transfer operation from the heated surface'of thewall to the cooling medium, it will be apparent that the continuous oruninterrupted character of the path of transfer effects a materialimprovement over prior walls of the-type which require the use of aseparate linerblo'ck in association with the tubes carrying the coolingmedium.

The effectiveness of a wall made in accordance with my invention isstill further increased by the fact that elimination of the necessityfor liner blocks makes it possible to materially decrease the distancebetween adjacent tubes whereby the number of tubes in any given area ofthe wall structure, and in the structure as a whole, is materiallyincreased, with a consequent corresponding'increase in the coolingaction. In practice a wall constructed as described herein shows anincrease in the fluid circulating system per unit wall area of as muchas 50% over the prior types of tubular'fluid-cooled walls employingliner blocks. My construction has the advantage further of relativesimplicity, all accessories, such as the liner blocks, bolts,clamps,'etc., being eliminated, and'the tubes by reason of theirsimplicity of form presenting no complication either in manufacture orin assembling. The inner cylindrical bore of the tubes'provides maximumstrength for resisting high pressures resulting from high temperatureconditions to which the wall may be exposed, and with the addedadvantages resulting from the external form as set installations usingnatural gas, oil, pulver mends itself highly,

forth above the wall is therefore particularly well adapted for highpressure furnace ized fuel, or stoker firing, and may be used in suchinstallations not only for maintaining relatively low temperatures inthe wall itself, but also for the purpose of feed water preheating oreven steam generation. A tube made in accordance with my invention is asreadily bent for fitting as the all-cylindrical standard tubing. It willbe apparent, therefore, that my invention notonly provides afluid-cooled wall of high efficiency but one whichby reason ofsimplicity of form and ease of assembly and manufacture, and by reasonfurther of the desirable structural and operating features set forthabove, recomand represents a material improvement over this type of wall.as manufactured in accordance with the prior practice. I V

In Fig. 7, I have illustrated in a sectional diagrammatic view aStoker-fired furnaceincorporating my invention. In this instance, thefluid cooling member takes the form of a wall panel 21 consisting of aplurality of the aforedescribed pipes 8 connected at opposite ends withvertically arranged headers 24: and The header 24 is mounted in a planeabove the header 25 so that the effective wallforming portions of thepanel have an inclination corresponding substantially to the inclinationof the stolter grate 26. In accordance with the known practice, thepanel 21 is.

arranged to form a side bounding wall for the Stoker grate. Awater-cooled wall construction of this character and as made inaccordance with my invention is particularly desirable for use instoker-fired furnaces by reason of the fact that the high coolingefficiency of the wall creates a substantial immunity against slagformation. Also for this same reason, my wall is highly useful for feedwater preheating or even steam generation, since the efficiency of thewall for that purpose remains substantially unimpaired over extendedperiods of use. It will be noted also by reference to Fig. 7 that thefurnace installation therein illustrated comprises a rear wall 27 alsomade in accordance with my invention.

In Figs. 8 and 9, I have illustrated an assembly affording admission tothe interior of a furnace utilizing a construction in accordance with myinvention. In this instance, the tubes 3 are shown extending upwardlyfrom a lower header 28. At spaced points longitudinally thereof, theheader is provided with upwardly extendingbranches 29-29 whose outerends are joined by an offset header section 31, in which a number of thetubes 3 of the wall terminate, thereby leaving an opening in the wallbounded by the lower header 28, the oflset header section 31 and the twobranch sections 29 through which access may be had to the interior ofthe furnace.

It will be understood that the invention in its broader aspects is notlimited to tubes of rectangular outer form, since the invention maybepracticed with other shapes, the essential feature residing in theprovision of a fluid-cooled wall composed of a plurality of tubes soshaped as in contiguous arrange ment to provide a substantiallycontinuous wall surface of desired conformation.

I claim:

1. A fluid cooled wall structure comprising a plurality of tubes ofsubstantially rectangular exterior cross sectional form, and a headeralso of substantially rectangular exterior cross sectional form in whichsaid tubes terminate, alternate tubes entering the header at spacedpoints longitudinally of the tubes to thereby permit contiguousarrangement of the intermediate portions.

2. In a. fluid-cooled wall, the combination with a header of rectangularexterior form, of a plurality of tubes. also of rectangular exteriorscontiguously arranged in a row to afford a continuous wall surface andeach having a. cylindrical terminal portion entering an aperture in aface of said header, said apertures being staggered and forming aplurality of rows extending longitudinally of the header, and saidheader having series of access ports in the opposite face in effectivealignment with the inwardly projecting tube ends and corresponding inposition with the said rows of apertures, and removable closures forsaid ports.

3. A fluid-cooled wall structure comprismg a plurality of tubes ofrectangular ex terior cross section disposed in contiguous face-to-facerelation to afford a continuous wall surface, and a header also ofrectangular exterior cross-sectional form in which said tubes terminate,the points of juncture'of said tubes with the header being staggered topermit of said contiguous relation while affordlng ample space betweenthe ends of the tubes for securing them in the header.

ANTHONY E. 'WEINGARTNER.

